


DE IN THE SEA

by Billcipher111



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Mermaid, Alternate Universe - Pirate, Hurt/Comfort, Little Mermaid Elements, M/M, Past Abuse, Pirate AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-01
Updated: 2020-06-02
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:34:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,705
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23404579
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Billcipher111/pseuds/Billcipher111
Summary: De is a quiet sailor on a new ship. He never expected to sail under the infamous pirate twins Roman and Remus, but all that mattered to him was that he was out on the open sea. Somewhere that he longed to be from a very young age.But maybe there is a deeper reason why he was so desperate to be closer to the water.!!! This is a Mermaid Deceit Au. I tagged it Graphic Depictions Of Violence because there are pirates and I don't yet know how far I'm going to go with the whole pirate theme. I'll change it later if necessary. Also, the dumb name is staying because I can't think of anything else. It is also going to take a few chapters before I show any real mermaid action. I want to start by establishing relationships first. !!!
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil & Creativity | Roman & Logic | Logan & Morality | Patton & Deceit Sanders, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders & Deceit Sanders, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders, Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders & Deceit Sanders, Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders/Deceit Sanders, Deceit Sanders & Everyone, Deceit Sanders & Thomas Sanders, Dr. Emile Picani/Sleep | Remy Sanders, Logic | Logan Sanders & Deceit Sanders, Logic | Logan Sanders/Morality | Patton Sanders, Morality | Patton Sanders & Deceit Sanders, Thomas Sanders & Joan Stokes & Talyn
Comments: 10
Kudos: 102





	1. Curious Caption

De watched over the side of the ship as the waves passed by, scrubbing the deck with a mop as other crew members kept an eye on him. It was fine, he was used to not being trusted. At least these people were better than his old crew. They were the worst, but these guys seemed fine, even with their reputation.

De was an ex-sailor turned pirate after running off from his home town. He hopped from ship to ship for a while till eventually joining under a Pirate captain who appreciated his skills in deception and persuasion. They didn't treat him too kindly, as expected, mostly using and abusing him. De's had worse so it was fine. Then his ship was attacked by the Notorious twins, Roman and Remus, Devils of the sea.

He had heard the story of the two. They were born to a wealthy noble family, but as they grew they found that the lifestyle began to bore them. So, together they grabbed as much loot as they could and ran, disappearing into the night only to be seen again on the open sea as devilish pirate captains of a mighty crew.

De's old crew stood no chance, they were slaughtered. De was the only one to survive and was taken aboard to become their new crewmate.

Ever since then they had kept a sharp eye on him, never letting him get too close to the swords or knives, fearing he would cause mutiny. De didn't care enough to cause them any trouble. As far as he could see they had yet to give him a reason to fight back.

They haven't hit him, they fed him, there was no yelling at him for simple mistakes. The only thing that mattered to him was that he was sailing on the open sea, it was his dream. He had no idea why but he had always felt drawn to the ocean ever since he was a young boy.

When he was young, he would climb the highest cliff in his village just to get a glimpse at the oceans' beautiful waters, wishing for a day where he, too, could sail across its waves. As long as he had that, what else mattered?

"What a wonderful day! Ain't is, Snake Eyes?" De jumped at the sound of Remus' voice. He had been staring at the sea so intently that he hadn't even noticed his captain come up behind him.

"Yes, Sir." He answered softly and respectfully. The crew had been good to him so far, he didn't want to push his luck, Though he did roll his eyes slightly at the name. It was, of course, referring to his yellow slitted eyes. The deformity was just another reason that people have used to beat or shun him in his past. 

"You like the sea?" Remus asked, leaning on the railing of the ship. De had been on their ship for over two weeks and no one knew anything about him, other than his first name witch they still weren't sure was his real name. Remus wanted to get to know him if he was going to be staying on their crew for the next while.

"Yes, Captian." He said as he looked down and continued to move the mop in one place.

Remus didn't like how quiet and reserved De was being. It almost seemed like De was afraid of him. Well... That would make sense to Remus, he did slaughter his previous crew and captain. Maybe he was just scared? It's not like Remus would hurt him, he was a member of his crew now, and he would never hurt one of his own. "How long have you been at sea?" Remus asked, "You don't look very old, so you couldn't have been out here for too long. What are you? 27? 28?" He asked, taking the mop from De so they could chat.

"25 actually," De responded, deciding it was ok to give him a little information about himself. "And I've been out on the sea for 9 years."

"9 years?! You were 17? You would have just been a little babe, definitely too early for a pirates life!" Remus exclaimed.

De did his best to ignore the stares from the other crew as he shrunk in on himself, "I didn't start off as a pirate. I worked on a few cargo ships, one thing led to another and I ended up on a pirate ship. Then here." De explained.

Remus nodded as he leaned against the mop handle, "So, how did you end up on the pirate ship anyway?" Remus asked, starting to get invested in this kid's story. He wanted to learn more about him.

"Well," De began, "The cargo ship I worked on at the time had stopped at a port that had a big casino, I and a few of the other guys decided to go try our luck. I've never been to a casino before so I wasn't planning on betting much, incase I sucked. But apparently, I was a natural. It's like I was in my element. Within the first hour, I had easily made a few thousand with no loss. I was also able to talk around people and trick them into getting more and more. No one could beat me." He said, remembering how much he had been winning. "And I guess the old cap saw me and dollar sings must have lit up in his eyes. He offered me a spot on his crew and I said yes, it's not like I had anything else to do and all I wanted to do was be on the sea." De shrugged, "And that was that. I was apart of his crew."

"What about your family? Did you tell them you were joining a pirate crew?" Remus asked curiously.

De sighed at the question before taking his mop back from Remus, "I think it's time I got back to my work now, Captian." He said, glancing around at the people who tried to pretend they weren't just listening to their conversation.

Remus pouted, "Aw! But I wanted to learn more about you!"

"Maybe another time captain," De said, "I have to get this deck clean."


	2. First Mate Logan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Logan asks De for help and ends up learning a little more about him.

"De," Logan, The first mate of both Roman and Remus called, "Could you come help me sort my books?" He asked, "It appears I have managed to get them all out of order once again." He explained.

De nodded quietly, "Alright," Logan was one of the, if not the, smartest people on the ship, which is why he was given the position of first mate. Both Roman and Remus tended to be a bit outlandish and wild with their work and Logan was just the sense of reasoning that they needed.

De had no real personal opinion on Logan. He seemed like a smart and educated man, which made it a mystery on how he had found himself on a pirate ship that had two of the wildest and outlandish people as his captains.

De followed Logan to his room quietly, hoping to get the job over with and leave. Sure, everyone seemed nice but you can never be too sure that they wouldn't turn on him the second that there was something in it for them.

Logans room had many bookshelves that had De quite interested. Each shelf seemed specially build to be on a ship out in the sea. There was a small wooden pole across each shelf, giving someone enough room to put books in, but made it so that the books were unable to fall off. Quite handy for a ship out on the open sea. "I tend to keep my books in alphabetical order. The problem is, I tend to read a lot and I can jump from book to book while in the middle of another, and by the time I finish all the books I was currently reading everything becomes such a mess." Logan explained, gesturing to his room, which was practically sparkling with cleanliness except for a stray book on his bed.

"So..." De paused, "You just want my help putting your books back in the right order?" he asked.

"Yes, please," Logan said, "If that wouldn't be too much trouble."

De just nodded silently and began to help Logan remove all the books off of the shelf so he could help reorganize them. Logan had a lot of books so it was going to take them a while.

They worked in near-complete silence for almost an hour before Logan eventually spoke to De. "You seem quite smart. What school did you go to?" He asked.

De laughed, "I wasn't sent to school. I'm self-taught."

"My apologies," Logan said, "You seem to have done a good job on the self-teaching process. Did your home town not have a school?" He asked.

"No, no. We had one. It was big and heavily funded. Lots of kids in my town went to school. Only the local thugs or riff-raff didn't go to school."

Logan looked at him curiously, "But you said you did not go to school, and you don't seem to be the type to be a thug or one of the riff-raff?"

De chuckled, "I was both, not like I had a choice." He rolled his eyes. "My Aunt and Uncle didn't care enough to send me to school so I spent most of my young days traveling the alleyways. My town was small but compact. There were a lot of houses crammed right beside each other and on top of each other, which made the town a labyrinth of back streets and alleyways." De reminisced

"I didn't have much to do so I spent most of my time reading from the library or memorizing the back ways," De said. "And with a town being that small and compact with that many people, There was a lot of gossip and secrets. Guss who knew them all?" He asked.

"You?" Logan asked. 

"Yep! I knew everything. You wanted to know who had a crush on who? You had to pay me. You wanted to know who was having an affair? You pay me. Wanted to know if anyone had cut you a bad deal on something? You pay me." He chuckled, "If you needed information and I didn't have it? I would go out and get it."

De paused, "Eventually some people began asking me to retrieve things for them. Things that were stolen from them or things they wanted to be stolen. The pay was too good to pass up but I wasn't about to break into someone's house and steel there shit. The town already hated me, I wasn't about to make it that much worse, so I asked some local bullies and promised them a cut of the pay. After that, more and more people began to ask for things to be retrieved, and I charged them depending on how risky the job was." De paused to laugh, confusing Logan. Logan was about to ask what he was laughing about but then- "I accidentally made a gang! I was the leader of a gang that I didn't even mean to make!" He laughed.

The thought of that seemed quite humorous to Logan, and soon he couldn't hold it in and began to laugh along with De. They laughed for a minute before Logan managed to calm down enough to ask another question, "What happened after that?"

De wiped his eye as he continued to chuckle softly, "Nothing much. A rival gang tried to spring up and take over but all I had to do was spread a few small rumors that grew on their own and that was over with quickly. One of them had to leave town afterward, but not much else. Paid my guys good and made enough money to leave that hell hole." He shrugged as he started putting books back on the shelves.

"I did what I had to to get out of there and I don't regret a bit of it," He said with a fond smile. Logan huffed and smiled before organizing the books on the shelf along with De.


	3. Tale of the Merfolk

De watched as Patton hummed happily as he worked on the crews' dinner. The crew wasn't very big, which had always surprised De when he first met them. They might have been small in size, but they were great in strength. Even Patton, who looked to be one of the softest and kindest members of the crew.

De had finished with his chores and decided that the kitchen/dining hall would be a good place to read. The only ones ever in here were Patton and Remy so it was relatively quiet. But De couldn't focus. That tune Patton was humming was familiar, but he couldn't recognize it...

It seemed so familiar... "What's on your mind kiddo?" Patton eventually asked, noticing De's stairs.

De jumped and blushed a bit, moving his eyes to avoid Patton's gaze, "Sorry, but... What was that song you were humming? I don't mean to pry..."

Patton laughed, "Its no problem kiddo, I don't mind. And the songs from an old folk tale my Ma used to tell me about magical creatures lurking deep in the ocean. It's actually supposed to be a sound from their people translated into our language! Or at least that's what my ma told me!" He explained. 

De looked interested, "What was the folk tale about?" He asked, setting his long-forgotten book to the side.

"Well," Patton said as he continued to make dinner, "It is said, that deep in the ocean, there are majestic creatures known for their luck, magic, and beauty. Merfolk they were called back in the day. They were beautiful creatures with long glistening tails and voices that could carry the most captivating melodies." Patton spoke as De listened on, enamored with the tale.

"They were once friends to us mear humans, trading goods, and guiding us safely across the dangerous waters of the ocean. They even gave the gift of magic to a few lucky souls that they had taken a particular fondness to." Patton said, "Then, one day, a greedy hateful man killed one of these majestic creatures and drank its blood in hopes that he would absorb the merpersons magical powers." De looked deeply disturbed. Something about killing one of those creatures and drinking its blood deeply stuck with him.

"The pore merfolk wept at the loss of their beloved friend and, as the kind creatures they were, tried to reason with the man. But it was already far too late. That evil, greedy man had begun convincing people that the merfolk were the ones being greedy and withholding magic and treasure that could make anyone rich, beyond their wildest dreams. He gathered up a crew, and attacked." Patton said solemnly. "The very first Pirate."

De felt a shiver go down his spine and shivered. He couldn't help but feel strangely disturbed at the story. "And... What happened to the Merfolk?"

"They fought back. Using their voices to lure men off of the ships and into the sea to their death, using their magic to damage ships or make allusions to cause the crew to fight among themselves. But in the end. They lost." Patton said solemnly. "They might have had their powers and the luck of the sea behind them, but they were few in numbers."

"Some people say that they were all killed off. Others believe that they ran, scattering all over the ocean and in the deepest depths, waiting for the day that they regained their strength to fight back," Patton paused for suspense, "But others, Like me and my Ma and her Ma before her, believe something entirely different." Patton explained, "We think that there still among us, lurking out in those deep blue waters, watching us. Just out of sight. Every melody that you hear in the wind out on the open seas. Every looming shadow that you see lurking underneath the ocean waters. Every time that you feel eyes watching you. That's them. Watching you. Waiting and hoping for a day when they could revile themselves safely, once more"

"Wow..."

"Oh, you can't be buying into this bs." De jumped as Virgil entered the kitchen.

"It's true!" Virgil fondly rolled his eyes, "It is! It is a story that has been passed down from my mother's mother's mother's mother's mother's mom! My grate, grate something gran was there when the battle took place!"

"We've been over this Patton," Virgil said, "There is no, and never was or will be, any merfolk. Bigfoot or Mothman? Now those are some things I can believe. Humanoid fish monsters that can both breathe underwater and speak English and do magic? Highly unlikely. I don't mean to disrespect your grate grate whatever but it's impossible."

"They're real," Patton said, before smirking a playful smile, "As real as your crush on Captian Roman~."

De had to hold a hand over his mouth to keep himself from laughing as Virgil's pale complexion grew red with embarrassment. "I- I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Really?" Patton smirked playfully, "Because I seem to distinctly remember when we had that party and you all were drunk. There was a certain someone who was getting quite close to the captain-”

“You can't prove that! You can't!” Virgil yelled in embarrassment. “Just like you can't prove that the merfolk are real! They're not and that never happened!” He yelled in embarrassment before rushing out of the room. Patton and De looked at each other a moment before bursting out in laughter.


	4. Betting On The Horses

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *I have no idea how the fuck horse racing works. I'm looking up some of it but if I'm wrong, please let me know what I can fix mo make it more believable. again. I know nothing. All of my knowledge of horse racing comes from that one fucking scene in all dogs go to heaven. so yeah. lol.*
> 
> ps I keep accidentally writing Deceit instead of De. If I see any more after I post I will go back and fix it! Sorry!

De looked over at the port on the town they docked at, said town was attached to a busy city bursting with life.  They had docked here so they could restock on supplies and take a small break from the sea, about a week in length. 

Each person on the ship was given a total of a 500 gold allowance to spend while on land. De was planning on just giving the money back to Logan, who, of course, handles the finances. It wasn't like De was planning to go onto land. What was there for him to do? Buy shit? It's not like he had many hobbies besides reading. And now that he was on the sea like he had always craved so badly, he was reluctant to leave.

That was until he overheard a conversation that struck his interests.

"Come on, Em. Just go with me!" Remy, one other the other sailors begged, "Just this once babes, you won't regret it!"

Emile, the other sailor and resident doctor, sighed "No, Remy. I really don't want to go bet on the horses with you. I find the entire thing unethical and not right for the horses." He explained, "And besides, you always lose. You should probably save your money this time instead of blowing it all on gambling and coffee." Emile insisted.

Remy rolled his eyes, gaining offense, "I don't always lose." Emile just gave him a deadpanned look, "Ok! So maybe I lose a bit, but come on! This could be my lucky break! And if I win, I'll take you out to a nice place for dinner, how about that?"

Emile blushed slightly, "Well... that sounds nice." He said, "But I'm not sure..." Emile bit his lip slightly at the pout that Remy was sporting. "Fine, here's the deal," He started. "You win this time, and I promise you. I will go next time. Deal?"

"Deal!" Remy said enthusiastically.

Emile giggled, "Well, I promised Patton I would help him with his food shopping, you have fun!" He kissed Remy on the cheek, "Good luck! Buy!"

"Buy!" Remy smiled as Emiley left, that smile slowly turning into a frown as he held his head in his hands. "Fuuuuucccckkkk! I'm never going to win!" He groaned.

Taking pity on the dumb lovesick sailor, De made his way out of his hiding spot from where he was accidentally ~~_spying_~~ overhearing them. What could he say? Old habits die hard. "I see you're having a gambling issue." He said.

Remy, not expecting De to pop up out of nowhere, shrieked. "Jesus fucking!- Where the hell did you come from!"

"That doesn't matter, I hear you're having some gambling trouble."

Remy looked confused, "How did?- You were spying on us! Not cool man!"

"Sorry," De sincerely apologized, "Its a force of habit and was completely unintentional, I assure you." He said, "But I couldn't help but overhear that you have a hard time at winning when it comes to gambling?" 

"Yeah," Remmy spoke, "I just can't seem to win at anything a gamble at. I mean, I win bets against Virgil all the time, but once its money that's on the table, all I do is loose." He complained. "And I really want to win so I can take Em out somewhere really nice and fancy."

De nodded, understanding the struggle... Well... Not really, seeing as he has never lost. "Maybe I might be able to help," he said.

"How?" Remy asked.

"Well," He began, "I've never lost a game in my life-"

"-No fucking way."

"Yes, fucking way. I have never lost. In fact, my crew around me seemed to even play better themselves as long as I was there. My old captain called me his lucky charm and took me gambling every time our ship stopped at anywhere that had a casino." He said, supressing a shutter at the thought of his old Captain. The man was a fucking creep.

"Really?" Remy asked, "Because that sounds creepy. Like really creepy. Even if you were like, made of luck. Which I won't believe until I see it, mind you." He said.

"That man was, in fact, probably the single-handdedly most creepy man I had ever met." De said, "And I don't blame you if I were anyone else I wouldn't believe me either. But it's true. I have never lost a single game in my life, and I've played a lot."

"Well then, What are we waiting for!?" Remy exclaimed before grabbing De's arm, "Let's go!" He yelled out excitedly, practically dragging De off the ship and to the nearest horse races.

It took a surprisingly short amount of time to get to the horse races, Remy dragging him most of the way. Remy was obviously exited, seeing as this was something he liked. But De was looking around, watching, trying to get a good feel of the place. It seemed to be a nicer place than some of the other races he's been to, but still just as busy.

It was a Friday evening so they were bound to be packed. There were 8 horses to choose from, some bigger and stronger looking than others. "De! I think we should be on this one!" Remy said, showing De a lost of names and pointing at one. 'Lightning'. "It says he's a champion at these things."

De looked hesitant. "I think we should watch a race first. Then bet."

Remy looked confused but went along with it. "Ok, sure man."

While watching the race, De watched intently as Remy cheered on the horses like every other patron in the establishment. Sure, De could just rely on his un-natural luck, but he liked to get a good feel of what he was betting on, just on be safe. The race finished and Lightning did not win, he came in second. "Good thing we didn't bet on him," Remy laughed, "We would have lost!"

"Dusty."

"What?"

"We should bet it all on Dusty," De said. "All of it. Your five hundred and my five hundred."

"Are you kidding me?" Remy asked, shocked at what De was suggesting, "Did you not see that horse! Not only was he the smallest one there, but he also came in dead last!" He screaked.

De nodded, "He did, but I'm telling you. We need to bet on dusty. No one else is going to, and we need to. I feel it." De insisted.

Remy groaned, not exactly feeling comfortable with this plan, But he decided to trust De, "Alright. Let's bet it all on Dusty..."

* * *

Remy bounced excitedly on his heels as they neard the ship. De wasn't lying when he said that he never lost. The mad was a fucking mad genius! "I swear, man. You are fucking magical!" He insisted, already planing the date he was going to take Emile on.

"I don't believe in magic," De said, "But I do, in fact, believe that there is a certain bit of luck on my side. Why? I'll never know." He chuckled, watching Remy bounce like a child.

As soon as they were on the ship, De could see that everyone had found it a nice day to spend on the deck. "So," Emile started, "Did you win?" He asked.

"Win?" Virgil suddenly snorted from his spot on deck, "That man couldn't win if he was cheating. Wich he has tried."

Remy smirked, "I'll have you know, Virgil, You are 100% wrong this time babes."

Everyone turned all looked at Remy shocked, showing De just home much Remy's losing problem really was. If they were this shocked finding out that he won anything, just wait until they found out how much he won. "You won?" Emile said in shock. Even Remys boyfriend was in shock that he won. He had worse luck than De had originally thought.

"Mh hmm!" Remy hummed, sending a wink to Emile. "Wanna guess how much I won, doll?"

Emily giggled, "Let's see...10-"

"1 gold!" Virgil asked, causing the others to laugh.

Remy rolled his eyes, "Nope! More than that!"

"7 gold?" Remus asked. 

"Try again, cap."

"It can't be more than ten." Virgil said in a serious tone, clearly in a joking manner, "If it's any more than that i'd think either you weren't the real Remy or you stole it."

Again, Remy rolled his eyes, "Harsh, babes. Reall harsh." Then he smirked. "35,000 gold."

"No fuckning way." Was all Virgil was able to mutter out as the rest of the crew looked on in shock.

"Yep!" Remy insisted, "And it was all thanks to De! I sware, he's a witch or something! But at least I can take you out on the best date you'll ever have been on doll!" Remy said to Emile. Emile blushed as he kissed Remy while all of the attention was turned to De.

De just shifted awkwardly as everyone looked at him, well, everyone but Remy and Emile, who were practically making out to the side. "You weren't kidding when you said you were good at gambling, huh!" Remus said.

"Yes, Captian..." De muttered, still feeling a little shy around Remus, though he didn't quite know why.

"So is it true?" Remus suddenly asked.

"What?"

"Are you a witch? I've always wanted to meet a witch!"

"What no!"


	5. Crushed On

De once again found himself minding his own business only for Captian Remus to pop up out of nowhere and decided it was time to bug him.

He didn't _hate_ it, not necessarily. He just believed that there were more important things that his Capitan should worry about other than him. Not how his day was going or if he needed any help with anything. What kind of Captain would ask him if _he_ needed help? Did he do that to other crew members? Because De hasn't seen anything like that and he was the _master_ of seeing things he wasn't supposed to.

"So why did you want to become a sailor?" Remus once again asked him, practically leaning over him as De read.

"I wanted to be closer to the sea," De answered respectfully. He might have been closer to the crew at this point, but an angry caption was _never_ fun to deal with. Past experiences had taught him so.

"Yeah, ok, I get that part," Remus said, "But like, why? Was the ocean close to where you lived? Did you know someone who went out to sea and never returned and you're hoping to sail all seven seas to one day reunite with a burning passion? Are you on the run from someone? Something? Did you kill someone? What is it?"

De had to hold a hand in front of his mouth to keep himself from laughing, "No. No. Kind of. No. Ye-... No."

Remus gave him a strange look before bluntly blurting out, "Did you just almost confess to murder? It's like, fine if you did it's fine, were pirates after all."

De sighed, "No. It's nothing, Captian."

"Aw come on! Tell me!" Remus bounced on his heels, "Is that also why you answered 'kind of' for the 'are you running from someone' question! I have to know!" De shrugged and shrunk in on himself slightly. It really was nothing. Just something stupid from along time ago.

He doubted it would matter so he didn't see the reason why Remus wanted to know so badly. "Oh come on! Tell me!" He wined, acting rather childish, "Tell me! Tell me! Tell me!-" he suddenly fell over, nearly on top of De himself, as someone smacked the back of his head.

"Remus, you idiot," Captian Roman said, "You can't just try and force him to tell you something he clearly doesn't want to talk about."

Remus grumbled as he moved to a sitting position, far too close to De for comfort. "But Roman!" He wined, "I just want to know a little more about him! He said he left his home to be a sailor just so he can be on the sea! But that can't _just_ be it!" He insisted, "And I'm pretty sure he murdered someone and I have to know! I just gotta know!"

Roman rolled his eyes at his brother, "Your acting like a child," Which was a pretty ironic thing for him to say, seeing as he, too, usually acted like a child. "He doesn't have to tell you anything. Especially if he murdered someone. Remember what Logan taught us about self-incrimination?"

"That it's bad." Remus pouted. 

"That it's bad. So leave him be, hell tell you whenever he wants to." Roman said.

"It's nothing really," De blurted out, feeling awkward being caught in the middle of a sibling squabble. "It just didn't think R- Captain Remus would find it interesting. That's all. I can tell you if you really want to..." He said.

Remus looked both hesitant and excited. Exited for obvious reasons. Hesitant because he really didn't force De into doing something he didn't want to do. Sure, he was pushy, but that was practically a personality trait of his, that didn't mean he wanted to force someone else to do something that they weren't comfortable with.

Roman was on the same page, is just as excited as his brother, but having, slightly, more self-control not to ask a million times over. "Are you sure?" Roman asked, "You really don't have to if you don't want to."

"Oh, it's fine," De said, brushing off his nerves. He could tell them. It wasn't like it was that bad or anything. They wouldn't make fun of him or be mean to him like his last Captain and crew. They were ass wholes. These guys were fine. He could talk to them. Maybe. "It's not that big of a deal anyway, I don't know why I was being so hesitant about it, ha."

His weak laugh did not sit well with either twin, "If your sure," Remus said.

"Well it's just," De paused for a moment, trying to get the courage to blurt it out. "I'm adopted."

Remus and Roman just looked at him, "What?"

"Wait, there more to it than just that!" De said, starting to panic, "I'm adopted and lived with my aunt and uncle. They told me that I was found on the beach near the ocean as a baby when my parents found me. And then after my parents first adopted me, there was an accident and their house burnt down with them in it and I was the only one to survive," De said.

"You-" Roman paused, "You. As a baby. Survived a house fire. That two grown adults could not survive?" He asked, hardly believing the story.

"As crazy as it sounds," De said, "Yes. That would be my unbelievable luck. My aunt and uncle only took me in because they loved my parents. They believed that I was an unlucky sea demon who changed my appearance to a child to feed off of the fortune of others. My eyes definitely didn't help me out there." He rolled said eyes.

"They were convinced I would kill them and that I was all evil and so they did the bare minimum to rase me. I think they would have beat me if they weren't too afraid id kill them." He said in a joking manner, though Remus and Roman seemed to think the situation was anything but funny.

"Holy shit, really?" Remus asked. It was clear he was concerned. Though that just confused De.

"Yeah, but it was fine. I spent most of my time out of the house and at the library. At first, I was hoping to get smart enough to get into a college so I could become a marine biologist but I scrapped that idea pretty quickly. All I wanted to was be out on the open sea so a sailor was the next best thing." He said, "Though, I sometimes wish I did a few other things as a kid. I like where I am now, don't get me wrong. But all I did was study and work so I could get out of town." He said before scrunching up his nose, "Well 'work' is a little bit of a stretch. All I did was run a gang."

"You ran a gang!" Roman and Remus yelled out in shock. Remus almost looked a little proud.

"Yes, by accident, which is another story." He said, "I might tell you later. Anyway. As a kid, I put all my effort into getting away, as a result, I never really enjoyed my childhood. Well, enjoy it as much as a person in my position could. I never ate out, I never went to any parks, I never spent time with any friends, I didn't _have_ any friends." He said, "The first extracellular activity I ever had was going to that one casino, which landed me on a pirate ship run by an absolute bitch. I mean it was worth it to end up here but he was a _creep._ He also had no idea how to keep his hands to himself," De grimaced.

"What do you mean by that?" Remus asked a suddenly serious tone edged into his voice.

"He was just really handsy and didn't know the meaning of the word no," De said, oblivious to his captain's sudden change in demeanor, "He also had this really creepy nickname for me, 'His lucky charm' I wanted to hurl. I swear, I'm just lucky that I'm freakishly lucky." He grimaced. "I don't know what he would have don't to me if I wasn't..."

"What do you mean?" Roman hesitantly asked.

"Well..." De paused, "I wasn't the only person he was particularly _handsy_ with... and they... had it far worse off than I did. And it defiantly wasn't for a lack of trying on his part." He shuttered, "A few times I woke up and he was practically on top of me. It was terrifying..." Roman and Remus looked absolutely livid, not that De seemed to notice. "It was... incredibly uncomfortable." 

Remus bit his lip for a moment, not liking this new information. "How about, the next time we dock I can take you around land a bit?" He asked, "We could wonder about and have some fun. Sound good?" He asked.

De looked shocked for a moment before smiling, "That sounds nice, Captian. Thank you."

* * *

Later that night Remus practically screamed into his pillow as Roman laughed at him from his bed in their shared room. "His fucking smile!" He screamed, muffled by the pillow as his brother laughed harder. "He fucking scrunched up his nose! It was so cute!" Roman was holding his sides to prevent himself from toppling over in laughter. "Oh, you shut up!" Remus shouted, throwing his pillow at Roman.

"Why should I?" Roman laughed out, easily dodging the pillow. "You look pathetic! I've never seen you crush on anyone so hard!"

"Well yeah!" Remus huffed, "What about your crush on Virgil!"

Roman rolled his eyes, "Oh please. I might like Virgil but at least I don't scream into my pillow every night since I met him! And besides, Virgil doesn't even like me like that!"

Remus blushed, "I haven't screamed into my pillow about De every night!"

"Prety much, yeah. You're hopeless." Roman said, throwing the pillow back at Remus.

"No, I'm not!"

"You are aware you technically asked him out on a date today, right?"

Remus was silent for a moment as his usually pale grew a bright red, "Fuck-"


	6. Virgil's Into Some Pretty Weird Shit

De once again found himself sitting on deck, quietly reading a book that Logan had loaned him. He didn't have many personal possessions. All he had to his name was his clothes and a couple thousand gold he had kept from his gambling trip with Remy. It's not that he didn't like having things, that was far from the truth. He loved keeping momentos of things he had done, people he had met and not hated. Pictures.

He used to have a lot of things like those before he had become a pirate. His captain had found them in his personal belongings and threw them all overboard, then slapped him for trying to disagree. He said something about how he was a pirate now and the life he knew was gone, and if he was smart, he wouldn't try something that stupid again.

It was stupid and dumb but no he had a hard time keeping hold of any material possessions. He was almost. Afraid. Afraid that they would be taken away from him.

It was dumb. Incredibly stupid. He knew better by now! These people are good to him! The captains are good to him! They have proven it time and time again! Yet he still felt frightened in situations where he knew he had nothing to fear. It was stupid. Maybe he was the problem...

"What'cha thinking about?" 

De jolted in place, nearly dropping his book. It was just Virgil. There was no reason to be scared, he was fine. "Oh, Hello Virgil. I wasn't thinking of much, just reading a book that logan lent me. Why? What's up?" De didn't know Virgil that well, but he was willing to get to know him.

Virgil shrugged, "Nothing much. I just figured that you've been on the ship for a while and we haven't really interacted that much. And well, I thought I might as well get to know you a little." That was fair, De thought. "So..." Virgil began awkwardly, "..."

"..."

"... Do you, uh, believe that thing that Pattion said about Merfolk?" Virgil eventually asked.

De shrugged, "I don't think so. I like the idea, of course. It would be amazing if it were true, but I don't think it is. It was a tad bit unrealistic after all." De said. "Plus I don't believe in magic. It's just to far fetched and doesn't even seem to follow any rules."

Virgil nodded, "It doesn't make sense. Moth Man is so much more believable."

De liked in confusion. "Moth? Man?"

Virgil looked like he had just been slapped, "You- You don't-? You don't know what moth man is?!" He shouted in confusion. "Mothman is described as a man-like figure with giant wings and piercing red eyes. Its wings are said to be up to ten feet long! In my home town, it was known that Mothman would take young children from off the streets on late nights. No one knows what he did to the kids. Some say he ate them while others say he abducted them for a sacrifice." 

De couldn't help but stare at Virgil for a moment before sputtering, " _How_ \- How is _that_ more possible than _merfolk_?" He asked, "That sounds like something that parents would tell there children to keep them in like and to keep curfew?!"

"It's true!" Virgil shouted, "I saw him myself!" He insisted. "I used to not believe it, too! Then one night I saw him! I was in my room and was looking out the window! Then suddenly there was this large birdlike figure with piercing red eyes! Just flying in the sky!" He said. "I thought I was losing my mind! Then suddenly it swooped down and snatched a kid from off the fucking sidewalk and vanished! And that kid was never seen again!"

De stared at him, again. "And I say this again. How the _fuck_ is that more believable than merfolk? That sounds like some weird fever dream. And I should know, I've always had weird dreams."

"It wasn't a dream."

"Sounds like it. My dreams get like that sometimes. Or even worse."

"You know what," Virgil starters, "Let's just agree to disagree and move onto the next topic before I fucking strangle you." He joked.

"Agreed."

"So, I know you don't believe me about moth man-"

"I don't."

"BUT! What was the weirdest thing you've ever seen?"

De laughed, "Do you asked everyone you meat that question?"

"In fact, I do," Virgil smirked. "I have an interest in the paranormal and the abnormal and I have several books on old folk talked and cryptids. Sure I don't believe in all of them but I think that there fascination none the less. Roman and Remus answered that the weirdest thing that they have ever seen was a giant 10-foot koi fish in the middle of the ocean. Patton said he saw a giant wolf in the forest of his home town that was carrying an entire dear in its mouth. Logan said he saw someone jump off a tall building and lay broken on the ground only for him to get up like nothing was wrong only moments later. Remy instead that he has seen a pterodactyl flying in the sky. And Emile sais that he once treated a man who had a knife in his head. Like all the way in, down to the hilt. ANd the man was ok. Alive! No brain damage! HE said that the knife was in just the right position that it just sat between the left and right brain half, or whatever they're called." He said. "He showed me the medical pictures that he still has. It was some freaky shit."

"Really?" De asked.

"Yep. So, what about you?"

"First of all," He started," YOur into some pretty weird shit." He said making Virgil laugh. "And well... The weirdest thing I've ever seen?...hmm...I'm not too sure, actually. Sometimes I think I see things in the ocean or in reflection. But that's like, normal for me."

Virgil shrugged, "Well, you still have plenty of time in your life to see some weird shit. Prates' life isn't exactly normal after all."

De chuckled, "Ant that the truth."

* * *

It was another late night, Everyone else was asleep and it was De's turn to keep lookout. It was a cool and quiet night and the only sounds that could be heard was the soft whistling of the wind and the splashing of the waves on the side of the ship.

looking down into the deep water, de was met with the all to familiar sight of glowing gold eyes reflecting up at him, shining off of the relatively still water. Shadows underneath the water seemed to almost try and beg him into the water and a small voice in the back of his head was trying desperately to get him to listen. He was so close. It was right there. Every part of him just begged to get closer.

De just walked away from the edge of the ship and continue to keep lookout, ignoring the small voice that had insisted that he get closer.

It was just another normal night...


	7. PARTY TIME

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *I'm not the best at writing party scenarios, sorry!*

De sat patiently in Emile's office as he gathered the medical supply that he needed.

De had told Logan that was good with a gun and was never very good with a sword. Bein a pirate was a dangerous job, so logan insisted that he learn to fight with a sword. He was alright with that, even more so when Remus had offered to teach him. That was until he fucked up and cut his arm all up. Not exactly his smartest move. Especially when Remus had started worrying about him to the point that he decided that his best course of action was to carry De to Emile's office himself. "How are you holding up?" Remus asked anxiously. It was still clear that he still felt incredibly guilty for the whole affair.

"I told you, Captian," De said as he held some scrap cloth over the wound to keep it from bleeding, "I am fine. It's just a scratch."

"It is defiantly not just a scratch," Emile said as he returned with some bandages and some tools to clean the wound. "Any further and it would have hit muscle. I'm surprised you're not even in a little bit of pain." Emile said, removing the pair cloth from De's arm, revealing the deep gash.

"I have a high pain tolerance." His childhood really helped solidify that.

"Well, that's good at least. But this is no doughtily going to hurt." Emile said.

"What do you mean-" De let out a hiss as Emile started to clean his cut with some sort of disinfectant. After a few moments of cleaning his wounds, Emile started to bandaging De's arm.

"It's not that bad, but it should take a few days to heal." He said.

"Eh, it's fine." De shrugged. "I heal fast."

Emile rolled his eyes, "Sure, tough guy. But I still insist you take it easy. Especially with the party tonight."

De tilted his head, "Party?"

"Yeah!" Remus laughed, "I nearly Forgot! We're having a party later tonight!"

"Why?" De asked.

"For the sake of getting fucking wasted!"

De rolled his eyes, "Of course. And Captian?"

"Yeah!" Remus asked.

"Thank you. For the help I mean."

* * *

"And he is so fucking cute!" Remus ranted as he and Roman got dressed and ready for the party.

"Yeah, yeah. I know. That's all you fucking say about him!" Roman groaned playfully. " _'He's so hot!' 'He's so cute!' 'I wanna suck his c-'_ " Roman was suddenly knocked over when Remus violently swung a pillow at his head. "My hair!"

"Oh shut up!" Remus hissed. "You were just as bad when you first met Virgil!"

"Oh fuck off, Remus."

Remus groaned, flopping down on his bed. "At least Virgil calls you by your name." He pouted, "He won't call me anything but 'Captian'. Uggghhhhh..."

"Wait, aren't you two, like, going out on a date at the next town we stop in?" Roman asked, confused.

"Yeah? Why?"

"Do you think... He's ever been on a date?" Roman asked, "Does he even know that its a date? What if he just thinks its a hangout? Or something? Like? He doesn't seem to have much experience with people. What if he doesn't know it a date?"

Remus sat there for a second, staring up at the ceiling. Then he suddenly slapped his hands against his face. "Jesus fucking christ. I'm so fucking stupid! What am I supposed to do?" He groaned pathetically.

"Tell him that its a date a tonights party?" Roman suggested. 

"I can't!" 

Roman rolled his eyes, "And why not? Hmm?"

"I- because! Because-" Remus sputtered, "Ok fuck you!" Roman laughed, "I'll only do it if you finally ask out Virgil!"

Roman was no longer laughing. In fact, his face had become a nice shade of red. "I- No- Fine!"

"I'm glad you see things my way, brother~" 

"Your so fucking weird."

* * *

The party was in full swing. Someone brought out a record player, Probably Logan. There was a lot of good food and alcohol and everyone was hanging out and having fun. De was leaning on a wall, eating from a plate of food. God Pattons food was good. At this point, almost everyone was tipsy, Well except De and Patton. Apparently, Patton didn't drink so he was usually the one who was the one who kept an eye on everyone, making sure no fights broke out and no one accidentally fell overboard. And De? He's never really drank before, so he just sat off to the side watching the Chaos of Roman and Remus trying to go a cartwheel while Roman was sitting on Remus' shoulders. _That_ was bound to go well... _Sarcasm_...

"Hows'it goin'?" Virgil lightly slurred, leaning on the wall next to him.

"Hey, Virgil." De chuckled, "What's up?"

Virgil shrugged and said. Something? It was mostly slurred, "How about you?" De stared at him for a second, string to desired what Virgil had just said, "What's that?" He slurred, pointing at De's bandage.

"Oh, I got a cut earlier. It should be fine." De said before setting his plate down and taking off his bandage.

"Wash' you doin'!" Emile slurred angrily while Remy tried to stop him, "I told you it would take a few days!" He tried to scold, failing misery as a drunk and overly cuddly Remy was draping himself over him.

"And I told you I heal fast," De chuckled showing Emile his arm witch only had a faint scar left.

"Woooooaaahhhh!" Emile shouted, taking De's arm into his hand, "You're a magic man!" He cheered.

"Magic man!" Virgil joined in.

De rolled his eyes and laughed. "Heyyyyyyyyy Virge~" Captian Roman came over and leaned against a wall over Virgil.

"Hey Ro!" He slurred obliviously.

"Do you maybe wanna hang out?" He asked, "Or something?" He winked.

"Oh yeah?" Virgil asked before leaning up and Kissing Roman's cheek, successfully flustering Roman completely. "I guess maybe we could hang, or somthing~!" De Laughed, watching as Roman could only nod while his face continued to grow redder and redder.

"Hey De, You can have this." Virgil Said, handing De an almost full cup of some sort of alcohol. "I gotta' go!" He said, grabbing a very flustered Roman by his arm and taking him somewhere else. 

De Looked down at the drink in his hand before taking a sip of it. It was _disgusting_. 

He drank some more. And some more. And some more. Then the cup was empty.

He didn't know if he liked it...

Oh well.

"Heeey De-De!" Remus suddenly bounced up into his view. Two drinks in his hands, handing one to De.

"Hey, Captin'," De said, taking the drink. "What's up!" He laughed. 

"Nothin' much!" He said, pausing to shift from side to side for moment. "Have you ever been on a date?" He suddenly asked.

"What?" De laughed. "No!" He giggles, "Never!" He said before drinking some of the drink that Remusd handed him. It tasted a bit stronger. "Why?"

Remus looked a little nervous, "Well, you know how I said id take you to hang out on the next place we stop?" De skilled and indeed, sipping on his drink. "Well... I was wondering if you wanted to make it a date?"

De continued to sip on his drink before giving a confused look to Remus. "A date?" Remus nodded. "You want to go on a date with me?" Again he nodded. "oh!" He drank his drink.

"oh?" Remus asked.

"Ok! Ill go on a date with you!" He laughed.

"Really?!" Remus skilled, bouncing on his heels. De smiled and nodded, finishing his drink. "Yes!" He shouted.

De giggled again, "Your silly, Captian!"

"You can call me Remus!"

"Alright, Remus," He laughed. 


End file.
